Does being furloughed even qualify for unemployment? I thought I read the employees get back pay on here (I have no idea if that’s true). Is it basically a free vacation or are these people straight fucked outta cash?
Back pay for pay lost during a federal government shutdown is not guaranteed for most employees, congress has to vote on that. The employees would be required to pay the unemployment checks back if congress voted to give back pay.
Sure it’s likely like a “paid vacation” but they don’t actually get a pay check until the Department of Treasury opens back up again because there is no one there to track time sheets and sign off on the pay checks etc. In the meantime bills and mortgage statements etc. keep coming. It’s been 14 days already and the rhetoric indicates that this could go on for weeks longer, so of course families where federal payroll is the only source of income are getting nervous. What else are they going to do? Break in to their IRAs? Sell plasma?